Today I tried baking bread for the first time, and honestly, I don’t know why I ever thought it was so scary. Maybe because I have watched every episode of The Great British Baking Show and imagined Paul Hollywood criticizing my every move while making it. Those steely blue eyes could break a person.
When I first found out about Everything But the Bagel Seasoning years ago, I immediately went out and bought some. Let me tell you, I put that stuff on almost anything I can from bagels (yes, I add more of it on top of my cream cheese), to potatoes, to chicken, and rice. I actually found a recipe for this bread online, and used it as an outline, but changed it to fit my day. The original recipe calls for a 12-24 hour proof, but I took what I knew about bread baking from theory and from using yeast in the past and tweaked it. Also no kneading required with this bread! (Original recipe here: https://donuts2crumpets.com/2022/08/everything-bagel-no-knead-bread.html )
When my loaf was finally cooled I may have taken a page out of the movie “Ratatouille” and gently squeezed it make sure I heard a “symphony of crackle” since “only great bread sounds this way.” Yes, the crackle was beautiful music to my ears.
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 packet active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4-5 Tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons Everything Bagel Seasoning plus more to sprinkle on top
1 1/2 cups warm water
Instructions:
- In large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and 2 Tablespoons of the Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Empty 1 packet of active dry yeast in small bowl. Add sugar and 4-5 Tablespoons of warm water. Gently stir together ensuring there are no clumps of yeast stuck together. Set aside and let yeast activate for about 10 minutes until foam begins to form on top.
- Once yeast is activated, add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture along with the 1 1/2 cups warm water until combined. Dough should be sticky.
- Cover with plastic wrap. Take a kitchen towel and run it under hot water ensuring the whole towel is wet. Wring out the towel (it should still feel fairly hot to touch) and place over top of the plastic wrap already on bowl. Place the bowl in a non-drafty place such as the microwave or oven (that is turned off!). I used the microwave because I didn’t trust myself or my husband to NOT turn the oven on for something else.
- Let proof at least 4 hours. My secret here is every 45-60 minutes take the bowl out of the microwave gently and remove the towel. Re-wet it with hot water and wring it out once more so that the towel again feels fairly hot to touch. Place re-moistened heated towel back over the plastic wrap on the bowl and return the bowl to the microwave (or other non-drafty area)
To Bake:
- Sprinkle flour on a good sized square of parchment paper.
- Turn dough out onto the floured parchment paper. If dough it sticking to bowl, flour your hands and gently pull dough from sides and bottom.
- Flour both hands and sprinkle a little more flour on top of the dough. Fold dough into itself and mold it with hands to create a ball. Flip dough over so smooth side is on top. Use hands to continue shaping into a ball.
- Cut an “X” in the top of the loaf with a knife and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
- Keep dough on the parchment paper and put back into microwave (non-drafty place) to proof for an additional 30 minutes.
- While dough is proofing, place a Dutch oven pot in the oven with the lid on and preheat to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Let Dutch oven remain in oven and heat for the 30 minutes the dough is proofing.
- After 30 minutes, remove bread dough from microwave (non-drafty place). Cut the parchment paper around the dough so that the parchment paper resembles a circle that is slightly larger around than the dough itself.
- Brush or spray loaf lightly with warm water and sprinkle more Everything Bagel Seasoning on top lightly and evenly.
- Take Dutch oven out from oven and remove lid.
- Pick up ball of bread dough by edges of parchment paper and carefully lower entire thing into hot Dutch oven.
- Replace the lid (remember lid is still hot!) and return it to oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Open oven, remove lid and bake an additional few minutes until loaf is your desired golden brown.
- Remove Dutch oven pot from oven and transfer bread to a cooling rack. Remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the loaf for cooling.
- Let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.
